The Meaning of "Adam": Insights into the Hebrew Language

The potential to sink lower than the animals and rise higher than the angels.

The first human ever to walk the earth was named Adam. The Torah explains the name. The Hebrew word for earth is adama. God formed man from the dust of the earth, and on the simplest level, that connection with adama, earth, is the basis for man's name. Once Adam sinned and ate the forbidden fruit, he introduced death to the world and was sentenced to once again return to the earth from which God created him.

The mystics pointed to various deeper meanings within the name Adam, providing layers of insight that can make our own existence more meaningful. The name Adam does indicate one's lower earthly nature. But are we really nothing more than the complicated mammals?

The Earth's Potential

In addition to the adama being a low place in the world, there is another aspect of the adama which is perhaps its defining feature. The earth is a realm in which we can plant and yield fruits, giving rise to new life which was not there beforehand. Man's kinship with the ground, therefore, hints to his greatest potential.

Man's kinship with the ground hints to his greatest potential.

Before creating Adam, God said, "Let us make man" in the plural. With whom could God possibly partner when creating humankind? According to one approach, He consulted with His ministering angels and asked them what they thought about creating man. A fierce debate ensued.

Some of the angels argued against creating man and others were in favor. For example, the angel representing kindness was for man's creation, for man bestows kindness. Truth opposed man's creation, since humans are full of lies. God heard these arguments, and finally seized the angel representing truth and hurled it onto the ground, as it says in the verse, "and He threw truth to the ground" and created man anyway. The other angels protested. How could God abandon truth, which is known as His signature? God responded "may truth rise from the ground" and our Sages then cited the verse, "truth shall grow from the ground."

The whole dialogue in the heavens appears bizarre at first glance. Why did God need to consult with His angels before creating man? Why did He reject truth in order to create Adam? Were the angels negotiating with Him? How did they convince Him to revive the angel of truth? Did He really change His mind? A core tenet of Jewish consciousness is that when the rabbis tell stories like this one, they really mean to convey a deeper message hidden deep within the parable.

The Maharal of Prague explained that throwing truth to the ground was by no means a rejection of truth. It was an investment in truth. The proof is in the verse our Sages used to explain the revival of truth: "truth shall grow from the ground." God never rejected truth; instead He planted in the ground.

The metaphor of the ground and its centrality in man's name is no coincidence. The simple act of planting a seed is a powerful symbol of man's potential. Recall that day in kindergarten where you might have planted a bean in a plastic cup so that it would grow into a plant for Mother's Day. Every day you checked to see whether anything had grown. At first, you were disappointed as you watched the seed. It looked like it was falling apart and rotting. You wanted to throw it out, but your teacher insisted that you wait. One day, a green shoot appeared from amidst the smelly decay. It continued to grow and grow, until there was a beautiful leafy plant, with the potential for an infinite number of new plants.

Therein lies the secret of God's sowing truth. There is a very physical side to every human, and often it brings us to places of rot and decay, places in which we can wreak more havoc on creation than the most destructive animal. Yet we also have the ability to transcend that downward pull and grow from the earth into something greater with almost unlimited potential.

There were angels that opposed man's creation. The angel representing truth argued that humans lie, and they have the potential to destroy the world. In contrast, angels are perfect. An angel is the manifestation of God's will, and is completely unable to deviate even an iota from that will. An angel has a name that reflects its mission since that is all the angel is. Angels cannot choose to disobey and have no minds of their own.

Like the ground, man can produce a virtually unlimited bounty of fruits.

Humans, however, have free choice. Every person has the ability to decompose and succumb to the earthly pull, or to defy the gravity of physicality and elect to follow more spiritual pursuits. Like the ground, man can produce a virtually unlimited bounty of fruits. Man's decision to live on a higher plane is infinitely more meaningful than an angel's spiritual existence since it is the result of man's choice and rejection of his lower self, or his channeling it to a higher place. We all have ups and downs, but we can choose the realm with which we most identify and whether or not we will bounce back after we have fallen.

Control or be Controlled

The name Adam alludes to man's ability to transcend on an even deeper level. The word Adam is comprised of the letter aleph, followed by dalet and mem, the letters that spell the word dam which means blood. We need blood to sustain physical life, but it reflects the lower aspects of man. Blood has long been associated with hot temperament and loss of self control. Shakespeare described one of his quick tempered characters as "governed by a spleen," an internal organ containing a reservoir of blood. The lowest aspect of one's soul, an aspect of soul common to every animal, resides in one's blood.

In the name Adam, the word dam is preceded by the letter aleph. The letter aleph is also a word which means to teach or inculcate. It similarly indicates leadership, as implied by the related word aluf which means a general or tribal head. God created man with many base desires that reside in the blood, but he also gave us the means to assert our control over them and be an aluf over the dam. By being in control instead of subject to the dominion of our impulses, man, who is created in the image of God, resembles God. In this connection, the name Adam also alludes to the word adameh which means I will liken myself, indicating one's ability to emulate God.

From Eternity to Death and Back

Adam himself represented man's colossal potential, as well as how far he could fall. Adam's understanding of the world was vast, and his dominion complete until he ate from the forbidden fruit. God created Adam to be immortal, something that remains true of the soul, but not of the body. Adam himself succumbed to the dam in his name, and failed to rule over his inclination. He introduced death into the world, something which had not applied to human beings before that point in time. Yet although he shrank in stature, elements of the higher Adam, the potential for accomplishing greatness, remained.

Adam lived for 930 years. Our Sages explained that he really should have lived for a complete millennium, but he willingly gave up 70 years of his life to someone who would use them to reverse the death sentence that Adam had introduced to mankind. Adam prophetically saw that a potential descendent of his to be born thousands of years later had not been allocated years and he sacrificed 70 of his own so that person would live.

The recipient of those years was none other than King David, the scion of the messianic line which will usher in the end of time. Our tradition teaches that the Moshiach will help bring the world to its perfection and toward revival of the dead, reversing Adam's colossal mistake. Adam knew this, and realized that it was critical for him to ensure that King David would live and accomplish his task in the world. Adam had brought death to the world, and to correct that, he ensured that there would be someone to bring us back to eternal life.

By confronting our lower aspects and overcoming them, we can accomplish things that no angel can.

The name Adam is therefore revealing. It describes our lower side, the tremendous downward pull and animal instinct within each of us. But it also alludes to our ability to become great -- not in spite of our physical side but because of it and through our resisting its desires. By confronting our lower aspects and overcoming them, we can accomplish things that no angel can. Through our earthy nature, we are planted and have the opportunity to produce fruits through rising from the decay and becoming more than we were beforehand. The choice is ours. We can be governed by our blood impulses, as was Eisav in the Torah who killed when he did not get what he wanted and was therefore called Edom, red, alluding to his being controlled by blood instinct, or we can become stronger and loftier, remaining in control of our destinies as we always subjugate the dam in Adam to the aleph that precedes it.

Upright posture distinguishes humans from other beings, and that characteristic reflects more than just an anatomical difference. Unlike other mammals which look naturally down and connect to only their instinctual and physical nature, humans stand up straight and look ahead. We can choose whether to look up, to grow from the ground, or look down, and sentence ourselves to a life dominated by our lower side. Each one of us is created in the image of God with unbelievable potential, and the name Adam alludes to the pitfalls we must avoid, and the tremendous growth we can experience.

Rabbi Daniel Baron was a close student of Rabbi Moshe Schapiro, a great Torah luminary based in Jerusalem who passed away today, 10th of Teves, 5777, Jan 8, 2016. The entire Jewish world mourns his passing.

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About the Author

Rabbi Doniel Baron is a senior lecturer at Aish HaTorah's Discovery Seminar. He received his law degree from NYU School of Law and practiced law at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. He presently lives in Jerusalem with his wife and children.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 26

(25)
jim,
January 13, 2017 7:53 AM

very right on....

thanks for all that insight thru the wonderful hebrew, we know it tells all!

(24)
Anonymous,
January 9, 2017 8:06 PM

Interesting

אדם stands for
אדם
דוד
משיח

(23)
jocheved,
January 9, 2017 6:44 AM

book

any chance these articles are compiled in a book?

(22)
Charles Williams,
September 20, 2016 9:02 PM

Thank you

Thank you

(21)
Jonathan,
September 16, 2015 2:35 PM

Angel of Truth

This is interesting but there is an issue of logic here.
The angel of truth argued that "humans" lie before the first human was actually created.
How could the angel say "humans lie" if no human had been created yet?
Shalom

(20)
Shoshana,
April 21, 2015 9:19 PM

Was Adam once Adamah?

Is there the possibility that Adam was actually named Adamah before but after he chose to partake of the wrong fruit lost his hei? Just as Avram gained one for obedience could Adam have lost his for disobedience?

(19)
Bill Goldman,
September 13, 2014 3:20 PM

earth-creature

Is it true, then, that we should conclude that "adam" was not in the first place a proper name, but meant something like "earth-creature" (which, of course, we all are, since God made the first man from the earth)?

shamar,
January 15, 2015 5:20 PM

I have another angle that might take to some.

The word adam also has two Hebrew words in it. Ad or Ed alef and dalet which create the word vapor or mist and dam dalet alef mem / meaning blood. when further research is done, we find out that dalet is a fire symbol and mem is a water symbol, the ether or source energy of fire and the source energy of water help create a vapor which we call spirirt. the symbols or Hebrew letters are from the language light speaks. the vapors / AD or spririt are in the DAM / blood which is balanced with fire and water. the body contains both. this is how the body remains at the temperature its at.

(18)
Clement,
August 26, 2014 8:50 PM

powerful insight.

Thank you very much may the world turned to Him who loved them so much to create them in His likeness.

(17)
Patricia ann Smith,
February 15, 2014 10:35 PM

The Dust of the Ground

God saved His best creation till last, as he man made from the dust of the earth to be a living breathing image of Himself. He made man from the 92 elements that come from the stars, without star dust we are worthless, we are shinning stars made to shine out and fellowship with the love of he Lord eternally in righteousness, the second Adam came to make this possible..

(16)
Lauraine,
September 8, 2013 10:21 AM

Fantastic

As a seminary trained ordained Christian minister, it was a pleasure to read your enlightened and insightful explanation of the Hebrew term a'dam. Thank you for providing this for many who do not know the origin/meaning of what people use as the name Adam.

(15)
Racquel,
September 28, 2012 8:17 PM

Thank you for the insight

Met a man called Adam today & asked its meaning & he didn't know so I was glad to find this site.
I'm continually aware that everything which comes 'on our horizon' is there to teach & give us a deeper insight: so this information you shared has helped greatly in a union of a number of thoughts that have been surfacing over a number of weeks.
Thank you for sharing your understanding & helping this body mind organism reach an undescribable place of awareness of Man & Man's most privileged purpose.... & all because the alarm maintenance man was named ... Adam! :-)

(14)
Anonymous,
May 21, 2012 2:32 AM

Very interesting

Extremely interesting.Give us a LOT to think who we are,and what can we do RIGHT now to change for godo.

(13)
Davino,
February 22, 2012 8:54 PM

Very interesting insight...

Blessings... Where could I find the exact source of this information. Loved it

(12)
Aaron,
August 1, 2011 10:08 AM

Very insightful musings

I am a Christian who ventures the musings of the name of Adam, I throughly enjoyed your insights, thank you for sharing.

(11)
Nathan Smith,
January 24, 2011 8:30 PM

Well written and inspiring. A guide to live by in this "World of Becoming".

(10)
Adam Melecio,
April 27, 2010 8:11 AM

Adam

Upon reading the article, I've been enlightened by the fact that every single event---happens for a purpose. This article demonstrates that man(Adam) has been created for a reason. Thus Adam became an instrument, in order for his descendants to yield the fruitful life that awaits us, the descendants of Adam. But then again we are the ones who controlled ourselves for we have the greatest potential among the livings that GOD created.
Good luck to everyone's journey.

(9)
Célio R. Jr.,
April 15, 2010 11:51 PM

Great Wisdom

I love aish.com.
Surely here I find a lot of divine wisdom.
Hashem bless all the rabbis of aish.

(8)
hadara botschko,
February 16, 2008 3:43 PM

Adam acronym

Beautiful explanation.The Midrash from Yalkut Shimoni about Adam giving his 70 years to David Hamelech shows that he resembles (adameh) HaShem by his characteristic of giving. In addition I wanted to say that ADaM is an acronym (rashay tayvot) for Adam David Mashiach. Adam has all of history folded into him. From the beginning of time till the end of days, by the intermediary of David.

(7)
Yvonne Michele Anderson,
February 15, 2008 5:32 PM

Blood is Essential to Life

Thank you for this article. I very much enjoyed it. The only question that I have is related to the characterization of blood, or "dam", as being "lowly." Blood, or "dam", is as essential to life, as "aleph", the ability to assert self-control. In the Bible, could one not argue that G-d demonstrates both characteristics of "dam" and "aleph" - a passionate side, as well as a side of reason - both being essential and equally important parts of his being? Could not one argue that both passion and reason, are essential parts of our being and legitimate forms of expression? The demonstration of passion, the dominance of "dam" over "aleph" is not only a negative (in the case of being a "hothead"), but can also a be a positive (for example, in being able to experience and express intense feelings of joy or happiness, or in being able to express sadness or anger in healthy ways...emotions which escape "aleph" instinctively in some way...). I do not see "dam" as being more lowly (because it follows aleph) than "aleph", but rather as a mirror to "aleph" (as it is next to aleph)...each reflecting the other - each essential to human being and expression. In the end, without passion, man would not procreate, bring forth human life, bring forth the fruit of the earth...

(6)
Debra Landine,
February 14, 2008 5:07 PM

dam - meaning blood

Just could it be that the main enemies of Judaism are the most bloody religions in the history of mankind? Namely, Islam and Christianity. The latter also talks about drinking the blood and the blood covering their sins. Just something to think about. Would love to have a response from Rabbi Baron - such a great article which I have read over and over.

(5)
robertdesouza,
February 14, 2008 6:35 AM

Hebrew, a blessed and sacred language...,

Shalom!, Thanks for such a beautiful and sacred explanation of the name of Adam.Taught me a lot of the Holy Bible's rich Hebrew languge's heavenly divinity!, Bless you all..,

(4)
ADAM Rodkin,
February 12, 2008 10:39 PM

wow

hahaha i never knew so much about my own name. truthfully, i'm going to have to read it over just because there was so much there to comprehend. great article though!bravo!

(3)
ralph,
February 10, 2008 10:20 PM

nice

Shalom; it was very nice to see such a detailed treatise on my son's name, God bless...

(2)
ruth housman,
February 10, 2008 2:27 PM

Adam

I always find word derivations and the explanations that come from them and such commentary interesting and filled with divine truths. On the other hand I can split the word ADAM in many ways and I would not necessarily understand the name and its meaning in quite this way. I totally believe that we are created with amazing potential to do good and also, the opposite. But I do believe we are on an ascending ladder towards God and that the mitzvot are very connected to this. I believe that there is a point of merger with God's ultimate will and that is then an abrogation of free will with an interesting twist, and that is, namely, to understand this ultimate purpose is to freely relinquish that will in favor of a story that will lead to that Messianic promise. You have to understand, that in order for a Messiah to appear or to be here already, then that is fully ordained and that the Messiah's free will, would therefore be somehow compromised for the sake of this story. We live life in paradox and the deepest of conundrums is this issue of free will vs determinism. Now I am a poet and I fully believe that God fully intended Adam to eat of that apple so we could get this story on the road. These days, narrative is at the forefront of all of our preoccupations and it is about script in a million ways. I am seeing the unfolding of a story that is pre scripted. Maybe this is radical but so be it.

(1)
Anonymous,
February 10, 2008 9:25 AM

Asking for permission

Dear Rabbi,

I ask for permission to translate this article into Spanish to be able to share it with my friends.Thank you for a very enlightening article.

Since honey is produced by bees, and bees are not a kosher species, how can honey be kosher?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

The Talmud (Bechoros 7b) asks your very question! The Talmud bases this question on the principle that “whatever comes from a non-kosher species is non-kosher, and that which comes from something kosher is kosher.”

So why is bee-honey kosher? Because even though bees bring the nectar into their bodies, the resultant honey is not a 'product' of their bodies. It is stored and broken down in their bodies, but not produced there. (see Shulchan Aruch Y.D. 81:8)

By the way, the Torah (in several places such as Exodus 13:5) praises the Land of Israel as "flowing with milk and honey." But it may surprise you to know that the honey mentioned in the verse is actually referring to date and fig honey (see Rashi there)!

In 1809, a group of 70 disciples of the great Lithuanian sage the Vilna Gaon, arrived in Israel, after traveling via Turkey by horse and wagon. The Vilna Gaon set out for the Holy Land in 1783, but for unknown reasons did not attain his goal. However he inspired his disciples to make the move, and they became pioneers of modern settlement in Israel. (A large contingent of chassidic Jews arrived in Tzfat around the same time.) The leader of the 1809 group, Rabbi Israel of Shklov, settled in Tzfat, and six years later moved to Jerusalem where he founded the modern Ashkenazic community. The early years were fraught with Arab attacks, earthquakes, and a cholera epidemic. Rabbi Israel authored, Pe'at Hashulchan, a digest of the Jewish agricultural laws relating to the Land of Israel. (He had to rewrite the book after the first manuscript was destroyed in a fire.) The location of his grave remained unknown until it was discovered in Tiberias, 125 years after his death. Today, the descendants of that original group are amongst the most prominent families in Jerusalem.

When you experience joy, you feel good because your magnificent brain produces hormones called endorphins. These self-produced chemicals give you happy and joyful feelings.

Research on these biochemicals has proven that the brain-produced hormones enter your blood stream even if you just act joyful, not only when you really are happy. Although the joyful experience is totally imaginary and you know that it didn’t actually happen, when you speak and act as if that imaginary experience did happen, you get a dose of endorphins.

These chemicals are naturally produced by your brain. They are totally free and entirely healthy.

Many people find that this knowledge inspires them to create more joyful moments. It’s not just an abstract idea, but a physical reality.

Occasionally, when I walk into an office, the receptionist greets me rudely. Granted, I came to see someone else, and a receptionist's disposition is immaterial to me. Yet, an unpleasant reception may cast a pall.

A smile costs nothing. Greeting someone with a smile even when one does not feel like smiling is not duplicity. It is simply providing a pleasant atmosphere, such as we might do with flowers or attractive pictures.

As a rule, "How are you?" is not a question to which we expect an answer. However, when someone with whom I have some kind of relationship poses this question, I may respond, "Not all that great. Would you like to listen?" We may then spend a few minutes, in which I unburden myself and invariably begin to feel better. This favor is usually reciprocated, and we are both thus beneficiaries of free psychotherapy.

This, too, complies with the Talmudic requirement to greet a person in a pleasant manner. An exchange of feelings that can alleviate someone's emotional stress is even more pleasant than an exchange of smiles.

It takes so little effort to be a real mentsch.

Today I shall...

try to greet everyone in a pleasant manner, and where appropriate offer a listening ear.

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